BOLD move

This Laguna Beach design expertly balances out the home's clean lines with punchy patterns, fun pops of colour and plenty of stand-out moments

- JESSICA ROSS

Before interior designer Michelle Nussbaumer set foot in this Laguna Beach architectural build, you might have assumed just about nothing could show up the Pacific Ocean vistas. Commanding views across the crisp cerulean expanse, this site is nothing short of jaw-dropping, sensitively moulded into the crag and shrewdly set amid surrounding shrubbery.

Sure, in anyone else's hands, an interior scheme might be washed away by Laguna's piercing blue waters. However, this particular stretch of rugged California coastline has met its match in Michelle's quintessential maximalist approach to interiors.

The house is situated on 12 acres above Laguna Beach, with a 360-degree view,' says Michelle, who subtly featured motifs that echo its location throughout the home. Take the ceilings and walls, for example, licked in layers upon layer of luscious lacquer that makes you feel weightlessly submerged under sea foam.

Or the organic marble wall in the dining room with its thick black gashes that appear to reflect the rocky landscape on which the home perches. The client's bedroom is like stepping into the sea with Phillip Jeffries lacquered wallpaper adorning the walls; and yet, the other rooms reflect more vibrant elements of the landscape,' Michelle notes. 'I am inspired by my clients and the environment.'